Operating your small business at home: How to prepare yourself to succeed

Tips to successfully run your small-scale business at home

How can you prepare yourself for success in running a small-scale business at home? Here are some ideas.

While flexibility is beneficial but it’s usually too easy to respond to emails from home or at family time. Not only does this challenge your attention, it also increases expectations about availability. It’s also harder to switch off and reduce stress.

How can you stay clear of all this?

Create your own workspace with creativity

One great work from home tip is to clearly define your home and office spaces.

A space or room specifically designed for work is essential, since creating physical distance can cause mental isolation and make it easy to unwind when the day has ended. The right desk, office chair and storage system will set you up for success.

We also suggests taking the time to make your space look and feel inviting. Research suggests that personalizing your workspace is an excellent way to increase your productivity.

"I have a massive cabin with a kitchen that has plenty of space for my food and other supplies. It’s my personal sanctuary. It smells wonderful and I’ve got full rights over the music!"

Incorporating a bit of creativity into your workplace can make a significant difference.

"I’ve tried to make my office an environment that I like being in. There’s a beautiful string of, red roses around the board behind my computer. I put all of our large feather costumes out in the open so I can see them. I have a quilted blanket that my mom made me on my desk."

If you’re working from home during an outbreak, these tiny conveniences could make all the difference.

Follow the same rules of your workplace as you do at home.

Although some individuals might allow work to take over their personal life however, it’s best to be cautious about letting this occur. This means no laptops on the kitchen bench and no packing orders from the living room.

The presence of boundaries helps to get the most out of your work day from your home.

We should follow the same rules that we’d face at work. For example, you wouldn’t respond to email notifications popping up having a face-to face meeting with a colleague or client therefore, you shouldn’t be doing it in the course of a Zoom meeting.

While working from home, it could be tempting to respond to every ping of your phone or email notifications immediately. However, making this a habit isn’t going to be helpful in the longer term.

Switch off notifications for your email so that you can focus on your task without distraction, then only check your inbox once every hour or two.

Find a routine that is a good fit for you and adhere to it

Establishing a routine for working from home is very important.

A set time for starting work as well as breaks for physical exercise throughout the working day as well as a consistent time for when the work day ends, are essential. Staying on a consistent schedule and making a plan for your daily tasks will make you much more effective.

"If I have three massages booked in, I will block each one in turn and I will also adhere to a in a schedule that has time for coffee breaks, lunch and other obligations."

Every day, she will pose important questions like "What are the goals or milestones I need to reach today?" and "What’s going through my head currently? ".

Certain people are drawn to routine and find doing daily gratitude activities beneficial.

Write down three things that you appreciate every day and make a list of your tasks list before bed or at the beginning of the morning. This will help you get in a good head space and make you feel at relaxed.

Make sure you are an advocate for your own mental wellbeing

When you’re at home working you’re able to work throughout the day without seeing any other people, so you have to learn how to be an advocate for your health and wellbeing by practicing self-care.

Be realistic about the work you can get done, especially if you are home schooling kids, and take breaks regularly to re-energise.

Research has shown that after the SARS quarantine period, some people showed signs of psychological anxiety, and taking the time to talk with your loved ones, family members and clients is essential.